How To Stop Technology from Taking Over Your Life

Here are some meaningful ways to spend your time that does not involve looking into a screen.

Recently I’ve noticed that the YouTube Algorithm is getting a lot better, and its video recommendations are becoming harder to resist.

I open YouTube thinking that I’ll spend only ten minutes there and then do something else. But before I know it, an hour has passed, and I still can’t bring myself to stop watching videos.

For many of us, our default mode of spending time, whether at work or home, involves looking into a screen for long periods.

With Social Media, YouTube, Netflix, news and emails, there is no dearth of options when it comes to keeping ourselves busy.

Many of us find it difficult to stay away from social media because of the “fear of missing out”, but I’d argue we are missing out on a lot more if we are hooked to our screens.

Mental clarity, relationships, sleep, productivity can all suffer when we are glued to our devices, and it also makes it hard for us to slow down and be in the present.

Completely staying away from technological devices is not an option many of us can take. But taking time to disconnect daily is something we can all do, and our lives can be better for it.

How to disconnect

Here are a few steps you can take to disconnect daily.

Schedule a specific time during the day to take a break from all devices and screens. ( You could put your phone on silent during this time so that you won’t be disturbed)

Wait at least an hour after you wake up in the morning before checking your phone. If you use your phone as an alarm, you can turn off your WiFi and mobile data so that you aren’t flooded with messages and notifications the moment you wake up.

While you're going to bed, take a book to read instead of taking your phone or any other device.

Substitute the time you usually spend on your devices to devote time for other activities such as:

Hanging out with people
Meditate
Take walks outside / Exercise
Do deep breathing exercises
Observe nature
Spend time in quiet contemplation
Take a power nap
Journal
Play/ Learn a musical instrument

What I’ve noticed is that while or after I do the activities mentioned above, I feel relaxed and in a much better frame of mind.

In today’s world, it’s not uncommon for many of us to be on our devices every waking hour.

Being constantly on our devices is rarely seen as an addiction anymore since that’s what almost everybody else does as well.

The business of social media companies depends on keeping people like you and me glued to our screens for as long as possible, but our well-being certainly does not.

If you found this post useful, please share it with others— I'd really appreciate it.

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